Arte Moreno

Arturo Moreno

• Born August 1946 in Tucson, AZ USA

Biographical Information

The first Latino majority owner in major North American sports, Arte Moreno purchased the Anaheim Angels from Disney in 2003. The sale price was reported to be $183.5 million.

Moreno, a billionaire, made his fortune constructing billboards. He was previously a minority shareholder of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He immediately made a splash in the Los Angeles market by signing top free agent Vladimir Guerrero to a large contract prior to the 2004 season.

He renamed the Angels, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. While his choice of names was derided in many circles, Moreno wished to compete with the Dodgers in the greater Los Angeles market. He was required under terms of his lease with the city of Anaheim to keep Anaheim in the team name, however, and found the dodge that abided the clause, while ensuring that in most cases, the team would be refered to simply as the "Los Angeles Angels". City officials threatened a lawsuit over the name change, but relented and did not pursue the matter further.

While the Angels made the postseason a number of times in Moreno's first few years, they never managed to go further than the American League Championship Series. Moreno decided to open his wallet before the 2012 and 2013 seasons, signing costly free agents Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson the first year, and Josh Hamilton the second. The moves failed to pay the expected dividends, however, as the team started off stone cold both seasons, putting them out of the playoff race before it had even started.

In the fall of 2022, Moreno announced that he was exploring selling the team, perhaps in frustration with its lack of success, as the Angels had failed to make the postseason since 2014, when they were swept in three games in the Division Series. This was in spite of having the best player in baseball, Mike Trout, in its every day line-up, and then adding two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani to the mix. The team by then was estimated to be worth $2.5 billion. However, there was little indication of serious talks with potential buyers after that and on January 23, 2023, Moreno turned around and said that the team was no longer for sale.

Further Reading

• Martín Gallegos: "Moreno family announces it will retain Angels ownership", mlb.com, January 23, 2023. [1]
• Bob Nightengale: "As Angels tumble, Arte Moreno defends his turf", USA Today Sports, June 23, 2013. [2]